Deep Blu at Wyndham Grand Orlando - Bonnet Creek

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of touring the brand new Wyndham Grand Orlando at Bonnet Creek. At the time I was unable to experience their restaurant Deep Blu, but with my guides throwing around phrases like "Crab Mac & Cheese" and "Calamari Fries," I had a feeling I would return quite soon. Thankfully, we were back in Orlando just a few weeks later, and Deep Blu got me out of the ever popular "Where do you want to eat?" discussion.

Since it was New Year's Eve, we decided to live dangerously and actually have dinner after the sun went down. We arrived for our 8:30pm reservation and were immediately seated at a nice table in the far corner of the restaurant, with a great view of Deep Blu's exhibition kitchen. The decor feels like one is in the dining room of an old ship, with a wood plank ceiling above, and giant white curtains which resembled sails on the windows.

The dining room.

As the name suggests, the menu at Deep Blu is largely focused on seafood, with a few land options sprinkled in for good measure. I was glad to see that the regular menu was being offered for the evening, as opposed to the inflated pre-fixe route most restaurants force upon guests on New Year's Eve. Then again, the capitalist in me can't really blame them...

The seafood display...

We started the meal with one of my ultimate favorites...stone crab. A half pound only get's you three claws, but the extra one gave my wife and I an excuse to play rock, paper, scissors at the dinner table. It was no surprise that the crab was excellent, and the mustard sauce was spot on. My only suggestion would be for the staff to pay a visit to Joe's Stone Crab for a seminar on how to properly crack the claws. 

One can never have too much stone crab...

Next, we went from my personal favorite to one of my wife's...steamed mussels. I'm not sure which I loved more - the presentation or the mussels themselves - but either way they were definitely a hit. If someone learned how to turn the sauce from steamed mussels into a spreadable solid, my days of buying butter would be over. 

Steamed Mussels...Always a good call.

When it comes to fish, the menu at Deep Blu allows you to essentially have it your way - no pun intended. One has the choice between several types of fish, which can be prepared four different ways, and served with your selection from an array of sauces. I went with the tuna, which I had prepared blackened and paired with the tomato garlic sauce. The tuna was beautifully presented, and cooked to absolute perfection.

The Beautiful Blackened Tuna

For her main, my wife opted for one of the "chef's preparations," which was the seared sea bass, served atop black beans and mango relish.  Her plate was equally as beautiful as mine, and the morsel I stole confirmed the sea bass tasted as good as it looked. Of course, anytime a dish is served with Cuban style black beans and a yucca chip, success is usually guaranteed with my wife.

The Sea Bass

Though comfortably full from the previous courses, naturally there was room for dessert. Rather than each get our own - which is usually par for the course - we decided to share a mutual favorite...key lime pie. I've never met a key lime pie I didn't like, and the same held true here as well.

The Key Lime Pie...Minus the bite I took...

Perhaps even more impressive than the food, the service at Deep Blu was simply excellent. Our server was on the spot, and handled the demands of a busy holiday evening quite well. He also didn't waste time once the meal was complete, which was a plus since I've been known to judge service - perhaps unfairly - by how long I'm made to wait for the check.

Overall, Deep Blu provides a great alternative to the unremarkable options for seafood in the Disney area. The food, service, and value for the price paid all exceeded my expectations, and I'm confident that we'll return the next time we visit Bonnet Creek. For the first time in recent memory, I'm unsure of when that will be, but trips have a way of sprouting out of thin air.

~Insert Dude-like Closing Here~ 

Deej


Note: The food portion of our experience came compliments of Deep Blu. As always, all opinions are my own. 

 

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